Two Indians stuck in cruise ship in Japan test positive for coronavirus

NEW DELHI: Two Indians stuck in a luxury cruise ship Diamond Princess in Japan due to coronavirus outbreak have tested positive for coronavirus. The Diamond Princess cruise ship that has been kept in quarantine at anchor off the coast of Yokohama in Japan has 132 crew members and 6 passengers who are Indian nationals. There are 3711 persons on-board.

"The Embassy of India in Tokyo has reached out to the Indian nationals through emails and telephone calls and explained to them about the health and safety regulations of Japanese authorities and have requested for cooperation," a statement from Indian Embassy in Tokyo read.

“2 Indian crew members have tested positive for #Coronavirus. Will keep you updated,” tweeted Dr. S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India.

A few days ago Indians stuck on the cruise ship had appeal for help, A 30-year-old man was seen appealing to Indian authorities seeking their intervention. “We are in fear. We are nearly 200 Indian crew on board. We have not tested positive. We want to disembark and be properly quarantined.” He said he was speaking directly, breaking protocol, because he was scared. “If I do not speak out, tomorrow I don’t know if I will be alive or dead,” he said in Hindi.

Through a tweet. the Cruise company announced that “The Japanese Ministry of Health has confirmed the #DiamondPrincess quarantine end date will be February 19, unless there are any other unforeseen developments.”

“Coronaviruses are zoonotic, meaning they are transmitted between animals and people. Detailed investigations found that SARS-CoV was transmitted from civet cats to humans and MERS-CoV from dromedary camels to humans. Several known coronaviruses are circulating in animals that have not yet infected humans,” stated WHO.

Most common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. In more severe cases, infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, kidney failure and even death.

Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Avoid close contact with anyone showing symptoms of respiratory illness such as coughing and sneezing, said WHO.

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